Deadly Beauty
by Spunky0ne
Summary: While on a mission to Hueco Mundo, Byakuya is attacked and possessed by a dangerous hollow. Kisuke's attempt to heal him yields...unexpected results. Kisuke/Byakuya, Ichigo/Tetsuya...yaoi, mpreg.
1. Blood Meal

**Deadly Beauty**

 **By Spunky0ne**

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 **While on a mission to Hueco Mundo, Byakuya is attacked and possessed by a dangerous hollow. Kisuke's attempt to heal him yields...unexpected results. Kisuke/Byakuya, Kenpachi/Kurushimi, Ichigo/Tetsuya...yaoi, mpreg.**

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **Chapter 1: Blood Meal**

A frigid, cutting wind sliced through the dark swirls of spinning sand that howled through a lonely section of Hueco Mundo, stinging the bloodied body of a collapsed shinigami, bringing him back from senselessness. The blonde man sucked in a painful breath, fascinated by the coppery taste in his mouth as he slowly turned his head and startled at the sight of the headless mess that had once been a hollow, but now laid, dismembered, next to him. A slow smile crept onto his lips.

"Good job, Captain Kuchiki," he managed softly, rolling onto his belly and looking around.

He noticed immediately the odd, thick silence that blanketed the area, and a glowing light somewhere ahead of him.

 _What is that?_

 _I feel Byakuya's reiatsu, but...I think that other hollow is still alive. I'd best get over there and figure out what's going on._

He fumbled in his torn coat and found a little syringe that he uncapped and plunged into his arm, instantly easing a measure of the pain he felt and allowing him to get back on his feet. He stumbled towards the strange, glowing light, his pale grey eyes searching for any sign of the sixth division captain who had been with him. His eyes stung and blinked, trying to focus properly as he closed in on Byakuya and the powerful hollow reiatsu he had sensed. He ducked down quickly behind a rock as he realized he had almost missed seeing the two in the haze of blue light that was wrapped around them.

Byakuya laid, bleeding from a deep wound in one shoulder and nearly enveloped by the eerily beautiful gossamer wings of the hollow that hovered above him, it's cruel fangs fastened on the noble's soft, vulnerable throat.

"Oh, that's really not good," Kisuke mumbled, "Not good at all."

He forced down an instinct to attack hastily, opting instead to move closer and observe, trusting his sharp mind to come up with a much better solution than the one dictated by the strict rules of the Gotei 13.

 _For the safety of the unit, a seated officer possessed by a transformative hollow, must be assumed lost and killed, along with the hollow._

"It's a good thing I'm not as anal about the rules as you are, ne CaptainKuchiki?" he whispered, angling around several rocks and closing in on the two.

He paused, listening as the hollow's head lifted and it looked around for a moment, before turning dangerous, glowing golden eyes back on the seemingly conscious, but immobilized man beneath it.

"You murdered my mate, shinigami," the hollow hissed, "We were about to mate, and you took away our chance to do that. You will die for that, but you will serve me first. By mingling our blood and reiatsu, I have altered you to give me what _she_ cannot. And when I fill you with my seed, you will bear what she would have...before I devour you.

The lovely winged hollow drew back for a moment, revealing his also glowing and dangerously large apparatus. Byakuya's lips moved, but all that came out was a chilling, soulful squeal that made Kisuke stiffen for a moment, feeling a powerful twinge in his loins. The hollow's rasping laugh snapped him back to attention.

"You are eager to receive me. How very reckless of you. Well, don't worry. I won't keep you waiting."

Concealed within the rocks, Kisuke shook his head firmly.

"That is so not happening, you creep," he said, gripping his sword, "Bankai, Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame!"

He watched as the strange stitches erupted along the ground, first altering him, then streaking along and swiftly closing in on Byakuya and the hollow. The hollow sensed the release of power and turned, snapping its head around and hissing through sharp fangs still dripping with Byakuya's blood and reiatsu. But before it could dodge, the sutures opened up its bony form.

"You bastard!" the hollow seethed, employing its wings to hover higher above the two men.

On the ground where it had been, Byakuya's eyes remained glazed over and senseless, but he climbed to his feet and shot up into the air, slashing at the hollow.

"Take that, you bastard," Kisuke laughed.

"What?" the hollow exclaimed, "What have you done? Damn you! He shouldn't be able to move!"

"Maybe so," Kisuke agreed, "but my Benehime Aratame restructures anything it touches, enemy or ally. It's made me stronger. It's gotten ol' Byakuya back on his feet, and you'd better expect it's done something to you too."

The hollow screeched and flailed as its wings stiffened, and it began to fall toward the two shinigamis. Byakuya flash stepped forward, slashing mercilessly and leaving the hollow a headless lump that matched its fallen partner. Kisuke watched, sighing and nodding approvingly as the hollow collapsed. The smile faded quickly as Byakuya's legs began to shake beneath him, and he fell too. Kisuke flash stepped immediately to the noble's side, sealing his bankai, then quickly examining the downed shinigami.

"Oh...oh, this is really all kinds of not good," he muttered, "We need to get back to the shop in a hurry."

He felt several familiar reiatsus approaching and smiled down at the bloodied noble.

"Hey, we're in luck. Looks like the powers that be, or maybe your cute little overprotective cousin sent the cavalry. We'll have you back and fixed up in no time. How's that?"

Kisuke smiled as Tetsuya appeared, perched on the back of his lovely black Arabian stallion, with Ichigo riding behind him. Alongside the two, Shima Kurushimi and his sister followed, trailed by an excited looking Kenpachi.

"Hey, did you save one for me?" he shouted, holding his sword ready as he touched down in front of Kisuke and Byakuya.

He paused and frowned down at the noble's bloodied form.

"Damn, what fucked him up like that? Is it still here?" he asked, looking around.

"Sorry," Kisuke answered, smirking, "Byakuya took care of it."

"Looks like barely," Kurushimi noted, "Deripie?"

His sister moved forward and knelt next to Kisuke at Byakuya's side.

"Is he going to be all right?" Tetsuya asked worriedly, sliding down off his horse and moving closer.

"I'm sure he'll be okay," Ichigo said comfortingly, sliding down off the stallion and wrapping an arm around his troubled boyfriend, "Let's stay back and let Aderia and Kisuke take care of him."

"I sense you have used your bankai on him?" Aderia surmised.

"Yeah, it was pretty much that or something pretty horrific was going to happen to Captain Kuchiki."

"You did the right thing then," Aderia assured him, her practiced hands moving quickly to address Byakuya's bleeding wounds, "but you know there may be consequences."

The two exchanged glances and the others stiffened at the way they looked.

"You know the requirement for seated officers who..."

"Yeah, I do," Kisuke answered, looking at the healer through shaded eyes, "But...it was Benehime that restructured him, not the hollow."

Aderia's eyes widened for a moment as she considered.

"Well, when that happened, the hollow reiatsu he was infected with was affected as well," she reasoned, "And even though you have withdrawn your power, the hollow reiatsu is still active, though it hasn't technically transformed him."

"Look," Kisuke said bracingly, "I can fix this."

"What's goin' on?" Kenpachi asked, frowning, "What're you two plotting about?"

Aderia looked up at the others wordlessly as Kisuke explained.

"Okay, the technical rule is that if a seated Gotei officer is possessed by a transformative hollow reiatsu, then he's considered a loss and killed before he can do any damage. It's a necessary law because of how dangerous those transformations sometimes are. Believe me, it's not just Central 46 being pricks. This is serious stuff."

"You're not going to kill my cousin!" Tetsuya snapped, starting to draw his weapon.

"Hey, take it easy," Ichigo said, wrapping a hand around Tetsuya's wrist and looking down into his frightened sapphire eyes, "I don't think Kisuke's going to let Byakuya be killed...are you, Kisuke?"

Kisuke looked from one to the other of the gathered shinigamis, then shook his head.

"No," he said firmly, "I'm not going to let Byakuya die. I think you officers should get outta here and let Tetsuya and Ichigo help me take him back."

"But he needs more healing!" Aderia objected.

"I'm sure you understand," Kisuke went on, that the three of you are Gotei officers shouldn't be involved. I would advise returning and reporting that Captain Kuchiki is injured, but under my care. If they ask, he was affected by my bankai..."

"Technically truthful," Kuri observed.

"Yeah, and it avoids you either having to kill him or face court martial for dereliction of duty."

"Just, please heal him!" Tetsuya exclaimed, staring down at his cousin's pained expression.

"I will," Kisuke promised, "Now, why don't you and Ichigo help me get him on the horse?"

Kenpachi noticed Kuri hadn't moved, but was watching the others with anxious turquoise eyes.

"What's the matter, cupcake?" he asked the handsome, caramel skinned man, bumping up against his side, "Don't wanna go?"

"I am worried about Byakurai," Kuri confessed, "I know you sensed his reiatsu. It's been affected, not just by the bankai, but by that hollow. I wonder what effects it could have."

"I think you should leave worrying about that up to the people who can fix it," Kenpachi advised him, "Come on. I'll get your mind off of this, okay? We can do some training...or uh... _something else_ if you want."

Kuri hesitated, watching as his sister gave Byakuya and Kisuke a regretful look and flash stepped away.

"Come on," Kenpachi breathed into his ear, "I have some restless energy I need to work off too."

"Do you ever not?" Kuri mused, a little smile sneaking onto his lips, "Fine then, we'll go. But I am going to keep tabs on this."

"Leave it to the pro," Kenpachi said, biting his soft earlobe teasingly, "Let's go home."

Kuri's frown persisted, but he loosed a resigned sigh and followed Kenpachi into a garganta that Kisuke had opened for the group.

"Let's move, Arashi," Tetsuya said, touching his heels to his stallion's sides and holding Byakuya against him as the horse charged forward. Kisuke and Ichigo ran behind them in swift flash steps.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Ichigo asked as they ran, "I could tell Aderia wasn't sure she agreed with your decision."

"Are you saying you don't, Ichigo?" Kisuke asked, "You think I should have let them kill Byakuya without even trying to do something?"

"No, I just noticed how serious everyone looked, even Kenpachi."

"It is serious," Kisuke acknowledged, "But I can fix it. I'll take care of him. We just need to get back quickly."

The two stopped talking, putting all of their effort into keeping pace with the flash stepping stallion in front of them. A short time later, they emerged from the garganta, dropping down into the training grounds beneath Kisuke's shop. As the stallion skidded to a stop, Tetsuya handed Byakuya down to Ichigo and Kisuke, who carried him up, into the shop and laid him on the examination table in Kisuke's lab.

"Sorry Captain," Kisuke apologized, opening the noble's clothing and baring his damaged, but still achingly lovely body as Tetsuya and Ichigo blushed and tried not to stare, "I have to have you naked to run the tests I need."

The shopkeeper worked swiftly, taking samples of blood and reiatsu, then feeding the samples into an analyzer. He ran a small scanning device over every inch of Byakuya's body, then tapped at his computer keyboard before seeming to notice that Ichigo and Tetsuya were still there and watching raptly.

"Hey, it's going to be a while," he informed them, "Why don't you guys go and have something to eat?"

Ichigo squeezed Tetsuya's hand and smiled encouragingly.

"That sounds like a good idea. Come on."

Tetsuya gave Byakuya a regretful look and let Ichigo lead him out of the room. Kisuke watched the monitor in front of him as the computer worked to make sense of the readings taken by the analyzer as well as the blood and reiatsu samples that had been drawn. The computer beeped and clicked, spouting out numbers that scrolled by as the shopkeeper took them in and mulled over their meaning.

"Damn, you're in a bind this time, Captain," he breathed, "but we'll fix it. I'll have you free of this reiatsu and back in working order in no time. You'll see. You'll be looking down on people with those killer eyes of yours and ordering your men around before you know it."

He paused, looking more closely at the body scan and not seeing how Byakuya's body had begun to glow the same blue that the hollow had.

"What a mess..."

Kisuke stiffened suddenly as he heard the same soft squeal that Byakuya had emitted before, and felt the same powerful reaction in his loins.

"What the...?"

He turned to look and his eyes widened at the sight of Byakuya, completely naked and sprouting blue gossamer wings, then baring dangerous fangs. His face was nearly covered with a startlingly beautiful blue and silver mask that was decorated by a swirl of what looked like his pink petal blades, and a large hole had formed in his chest.

"Whoa!" he gasped, quickly grabbing a syringe and lunging at the possessed officer, "not good at all!"

He dodged as Byakuya snapped at him, then whipped his fine wings, knocking over several monitors and a tall lamp, sending them crashing to the floor.

"Shit!"

"Are you all right, boss?" Tessai called from outside the door, "Do you need any help with him?"

"Uh, naw...no, it's uh...it's uh, fine. We're okay," Kisuke panted, circling Byakuya as the noble snarled and charged at him, sending more breakables flying, "Aw, come on. You're breaking up my lab, Captain Kuchiki! Settle down, okay?"

He dodged again as Byakuya swept towards him, attacking with polished black claws and pearly fangs.

"C'mon, you don't want to do that," he reasoned, "You take me out and we are both dead, got me?"

He dodged a slashing claw and turned suddenly, driving the syringe into Byakuya's pale shoulder and breathing a sigh of relief as he finally collapsed. He laid, panting, on the floor as Kisuke dropped on his knees beside the noble and hastily attached a large tube to the area over Byakuya's spirit core.

"This'll get the bad reiatsu out of you," the shopkeeper assured him, "And let's hope you go back to normal. But hey, if you don't, you make a pretty vizard, you know."

He made a sound of surprise as Byakuya turned, lunging at him again. Byakuya's body collided with the shopkeeper's, bringing Kisuke down on his back, where he was pinned by the possessed and still naked captain.

"Crap!" he gasped, struggling, "Captain, don't make me have to kill you, please?"

He noted that the suction device was still attached and grabbed Byakuya's shoulders, holding him away as the noble tore at Kisuke's clothes, shredding them.

"Oh, Captain," he grunted, stiffening his arms and straining to keep him held back, "I don't think I like what you're doing here. How about you let me up?"

Byakuya loosed an unholy shriek that seemed to travel like an electric shock through Kisuke's body. leaving him unable to do anything but keep his extended arms stiffened. Byakuya shifted atop his flattened form, panting and grinding suggestively against his nether region.

"You're going to hate me for this, but sorry. I can't let you do that or you'll hate me even more than you hated me for taking Yoruichi and leaving the Seireitei."

He started to employ a heavy kido shock to the noble, then heard a sweet, hynotic keening sound that froze him in place and made him stare raptly up at Byakuya's comely face.

"Oh," he moaned, struggling sluggishly as Byakuya shifted and positioned himself above the shopkeeper, then methodically joined their bodies, "Oh my god! What are you doing?"

Throbs of dizziness and arousal assaulted his senses and Byakuya's glowing body seemed barely in focus as it started a series of powerful undulations.

"Ah!" Kisuke gasped, "C-captain, stop! Th-that was a _mating_ ritual we interrupted! If you don't stop...if you make me...inside you, you...you could...might...oh...OH!...Holy Hell!"

Kisuke's fingers clenched Byakuya's shoulders in a death grip and he stared mindlessly up at the noble's enthralling eyes, his senses leaving him completely and his hips rising heedlessly to meet Byakuya's. The noble's lips curled back, revealing his white fangs that he brought slowly down to brush against the shopkeeper's throat. Kisuke moaned in reaction, tilting his head back and welcoming the swift bite and powerful suction that followed.

In the back of his spinning mind, he realized how the mating was likely to end, but couldn't resist as the two brought their joining to a stunning pinnacle. Byakuya's fangs released his throat for a moment as the noble loosed a scream of surrender and his body stiffened and succumbed to the hard shudders of climax. Kisuke gasped and thrust upward, loosing himself in long, hot throbs, then collapsing on his back and staring up at Byakuya, waiting for the end he expected was coming. But just as the noble's fangs snapped at his throat to tear it out, Byakuya quivered and made a sound of dismay. He panted several times, then fell back, swaying dangerously, then starting to fall. Kisuke surged up and caught him, easing him to the floor and watching as Byakuya's hollow hole slowly closed, and the claws and fangs reverted to graceful fingers and normal white teeth.

"Whew! Not a moment too soon," Kisuke said, shaking his head.

He looked down at his seed splashed body, his mind slowly clearing and realizing the full portent of what had happened.

"Ah...right," he stammered, "Okay."

He picked up Byakuya's limp body and carried him back to the examination table, stiffening as someone knocked on the lab door.

"Mr. Urahara?" Tetsuya's voice called out, "Is my cousin all right? There were a lot of loud noises..."

"Byakuya's okay," Kisuke called back, "just don't come in. There's a lot of broken glass and stuff to clean up."

He let out a weary breath and patted Byakuya's face.

"Don't worry, I won't let anyone else see you like this. We'll just pretend this whole thing never happened, right? The reiatsu cleaner sucked out the hollow reiatsu. You're back to normal. You just might have a vizard form in there someplace, but I'll bet you're pleased you're not possessed anymore, huh? Let's just hope..."

He paused and a little shudder went through him.

"Best not to think about that. I'm sure it's fine. He's fine. I'm fine."

He reached up and touched the place on his throat where Byakuya's fangs had pierced him, then attached a smaller suction device to the area.

"Gotta make sure I don't end up a hollow either, right?" he chuckled.

He walked to the sink and prepared a large basin of hot, soapy water, then dampened a cloth. He leaned over Byakuya, slowly bathing him. His hands still shook slightly as they slid the cloth over the expanses of pale skin and healing the signs of damage.

"I really hope you don't remember that," Kisuke mused, "You almost killed me as it was. I _know_ you'd kill me if you knew we'd..."

He paused, gazing at Byakuya's lovely face and sweetly scented body.

 _I was never with anyone like that before._

 _I guess every genius has his weak spot, and that's mine. I can anticipate the hell out of most things, but I'm about as sexually innocent as..._

A slow smirk spread over his handsome face and an unusual blush touched his cheeks.

 _At least, I was sexually innocent. I guess I'm not anymore. I can't complain though. He's a perfect specimen...just beautiful. If I had to choose a person to lose my virginity with..._

A little stab of uncertainty brought him out of his reverie.

"Let's get you dressed," he mumbled, stumbling across the room and finding Byakuya a fresh yukata.

He dressed the noble, then lifted him and carried him into the hallway and to a guest bedroom, eliciting odd stares from Ichigo, Tetsuya and Tessai as he passed them.

"Um, why was Mr. Urahara naked?" Tetsuya managed softly, blushing brightly and staring in the direction the shopkeeper had gone.

"Uh..." Ichigo mused in a flustered tone, blushing as prominently as his pretty boyfriend.

"I am...sure it was that he was...eh...perhaps splattered with something toxic and had to undress to avoid... _consequences_."

"R-right," Ichigo agreed, shaking his head, "That's gotta be it."


	2. New Bloom

**Chapter 2: New Bloom**

"Ugh," Byakuya groaned, cracking his eyes open, then wincing at the light coming in through the guest room window.

Pain like shards of glass erupted in his face, arms, hands, legs and feet when he tried to move the slightest bit. His chest ached fiercely and his throat stung from being too dry. He heard a footstep in the room and tried to focus on the person who leaned over him, shocking his body, even with gentle touches.

"D-don't touch me!" he gasped furiously, his frown deepening at the odd way the words seemed to carry a hissing note.

"Just a moment, Captain Kuchiki," Kisuke soothed him, "You've got a little problem here. Don't worry about a thing. I just need to have you relax for a second."

"Relax?" Byakuya panted, squinting harder as he realized that he was looking through something that seemed to be placed over his face, "Urahara...!"

"Easy there," Kisuke said, sending a powerful throb of sedative kido through Byakuya's shaky body and sending him tumbling back into a deep sleep, "No way you want to wake up to that."

He stood, silently examining the hauntingly beautiful blue, silver and pink hollow mask that had returned to Byakuya's comely face and wondering at the swirl of mingled emotions it was bringing on.

 _On the one hand, Byakuya was right to be spooked about what's going on. Even though he's technically a vizard now, and the other vizards have been accepted back into the Gotei fold, he's different from the vizards. They were changed by exposure to the hogyoku. Byakuya was infected with transformative reiatsu that was only kept from changing him completely because of my bankai. We're in brand new territory here, looking at something that has just never happened before. Never before has a transformative reaction been stopped. And that suggests that there is a chance he could eventually completely transform. I need to do everything I can to stop that. Not just because the guy saved my life, he's…_

Kisuke laid a hand on Byakuya's slender belly and felt a deep, warm twinge inside as his reiatsu made contact with another that had taken root.

 _He's got our child inside him. I have no idea how to tell him something like that. First off, Byakuya still blames me for Yoruichi leaving. So, he's already angry at me and doesn't need another reason to be. Secondly, he's a clan leader, and being raised in the Shihoin clan, I know all about what that means. Being an anomaly just isn't okay, and there is a point beyond which the elders of a clan won't go. A hollowfied Byakuya might be more than those old fellas could handle. They could have him killed. I want to think they'd not do it if they knew about the baby, but if Byakuya's a hollow or a vizard, the child will be also. I need to protect him. I need to protect both of them._

 _I might need protection from Byakuya when he learns what that hollow did to him. I mean, it isn't my fault. I didn't get him bitten. It just happened in battle. What I did was to defy the rules that said I should have killed him so he wouldn't end up a hollow. Still, he technically isn't a full hollow. Yup, we could go round and round on this one. But I've got work to do._

Kisuke leaned over Byakuya's resting body and pulled the covers back, then opened the clan leader's yukata, baring his perfectly formed body. A little swell of giddiness passed through him at being struck with the visual beauty, the impact of which was underscored with the light, sweet scent of sakura. For a moment, he found his mind in too much disarray to think straight. He shook his head to clear it and swallowed hard at the ache that had come into his loins.

 _What the heck? I know it's not the injuries I got or the effects of the hollow reiatsu or anything. Why am I feeling like I did when the hollow reiatsu took over and made him have sex with me? Damn, this feels dangerous._

He ran his hands over his face and took a steadying breath, but only found himself stymied again by Byakuya's intense beauty, somehow made almost painful to him by the presence of the finely crafted hollow mask that covered his face.

 _Well, that has to go_ , he decided.

He took hold of the edges of the mask and pulled hard, breaking it away from Byakuya's face and suddenly bringing the sleeping captain painfully and dangerously awake again. Byakuya howled in pain, a chilling cry that sank down deep into Kisuke's chest, making his heart throb and dance in his chest as he struck with another sedative kido, capturing Byakuya in his arms as the noble tried to launch himself out of the bed, and laying him back down very gently. He hesitated, poised over Byakuya and looking down at his pretty face while the smell of flowers teased him. He took a skittering breath, moving closer and finally succumbing to the other man's beauty. He brushed his lips very lightly against Byakuya's, feeling an unbearable longing to be connected with him again. He settled for a longer kiss and then settled at Byakuya's side, ignoring the hungry pain in his loins and infusing the man's lower abdomen with stabilizing reiatsu.

 _What am I supposed to do? How will I tell him? And if I can't tell him now, then how will I stay close enough to him so that I can be there to give him the infusions he'll need?_

The questions seemed to continue throwing themselves around in his busy mind as he worked steadily at bringing the reiatsu in Byakuya's body back into balance. As he was finishing, a tap sounded on the door. Kisuke stole a last breath of Byakuya's sweet scent, then closed his yukata and settled the blanket back over him.

"Come in."

The door opened and Ichigo and Tetsuya entered the room together, dressed in sleeping yukatas and holding hands.

"Good morning, Mr. Urahara," Tetsuya greeted him, in the young man's unfailingly polite fashion, "Thank you for caring for my cousin through the night. But can you tell me, is Byakuya improving?"

Kisuke smiled wearily.

"He's better this morning, but look, he needs a lot of rest. I'm going to get a clearance today for him to stay here for treatment for the next week or so."

"He is that badly injured?" Tetsuya asked worriedly.

"What the hell happened to him?" Ichigo mused.

"It's not just that he got beat up," Kisuke explained, "He got beat up by a crazy ass hollow with some weird powers and, as I'm sure you'll remember, healing that weird stuff takes more time. I told you he's going to be fine. You two should go on back and inform the Kuchiki elders that he'll be here recuperating for a while."

Tetsuya shook his head firmly.

"I'll just inform them by hell butterfly," he insisted, "I am always to remain with my cousin unless dispatched by him to be elsewhere."

The bedroom door opened before Kisuke could answer, and Tessai entered the room, wearing a deep, concerned frown.

"Boss, a very large group of injured soldiers has arrived through the garganta downstairs. Hanataro is there, assessing injuries, but we will need all of the guest rooms for the most severely wounded."

"Tetsuya and I can stay at my dad's place here with Karin and Yuzu," Ichigo offered.

"I can also help with healing, as I've been trained for basic first aid and field surgery," Tetsuya added.

"Sounds good," Kisuke said, standing, "Hey, Tessai, will you help me move Byakuya to my bedroom? That'll free up this room."

"He could stay at my dad's place too," Ichigo suggested.

"Naw, I don't think he should be moving around that much just yet. I won't be sleeping much anyway, so it's no problem."

"Well, if you think it's best," Tetsuya said, frowning.

"Come on," Ichigo urged him, "We should go and see if Hanataro needs some help."

Tessai joined Kisuke in lifting Byakuya's limp form and they carried the unconscious noble down the hallway to the shopkeeper's room, where they laid him in the freshly made bed and tucked him in. The two flash stepped out of the room and to the long ladder that led down into the training room, where Tetsuya and Ichigo had joined Hanataro in surveying the incoming troops for injuries.

"Thank you for coming to help, Mr. Urahara," Hanataro said gratefully as they arrived.

"No problem," Kisuke assured him, "Glad to help. Just send the ones requiring more serious care to Tessai, Tetsuya and me, and you and Ichigo can take care of basic first aid and minor injuries."

"Hai!" Hanataro said, moving to the next injured man.

The men worked tirelessly through the morning, sorting the injured into groups by medical need, and patching up the less injured to send back to the Seireitei. Ururu and Jinta arrived with food for a hasty lunch, then the five returned to their work for much of the afternoon. As the work slowed, Tessai and the children returned to the upstairs to cook the evening meal. It was already after dark when the injured were fully addressed and the weary healers were able to take hot baths, then settle down to a large dinner.

"Did you have a chance to look in on Byakuya, like I asked, Jinta?" Kisuke inquired.

"Yeah. He was still out like a light," the boy answered, "but his reiatsu felt like it was stable, so I just let him sleep, like you said."

"Good," Kisuke sighed sleepily, "I'll make one more round to check on the ones who are staying tonight, then I'm going to turn in."

"Tessai can just give us a call of he needs any help during the night," Ichigo added.

"Thanks you two," Kisuke said gratefully, "You were a big help today. Tetsuya, we can talk more tomorrow about Byakuya's condition and plan for getting him back on his feet."

"Very well," Tetsuya agreed, "Goodnight, then."

Kisuke finished his meal, then walked back to his bedroom and found Byakuya sleeping soundly, his flesh pale, but not the abnormal white it had been during his near hollowfication. He turned away from the noble to choose a fresh yukata, then walked into his bathroom and turned on the shower. While the water warmed, he looked at his reflection in the mirror, noting the toll the Aizen and quincy conflicts had taken, the darker, more weary eyes, paler skin showing very slight signs of aging, and a dullness in his reiatsu that he was sure hadn't been there before.

"Damn, I need a vacation," he sighed, turning away and climbing in under the hot spray.

He closed his eyes, letting the hot water stream through the strands of tousled, blonde hair, trickling onto his shoulders and back before trailing down the length of his bare body. Taking slow breaths of the steamy air seemed to revive him, and a little smile came to his lips. He hummed a little, cheering himself a bit more, and was just starting to feel like himself again, when he felt another presence close to him. Kisuke opened his eyes, freezing as stark white arms curled around him from behind and the scents of sakura and dark earth struck his senses.

"Oh, you shouldn't do this," he chided the noble, turning and going still for a moment at the sight of Byakuya's chillingly lovely masked face and gossamer wings, "Oh man, not a…"

He broke off as Byakuya's mouth opened, loosing a strange, keening sound that made the shopkeeper's body go still and his heart pound hard and fast.

"Byakuya!" he gasped, struggling to move, but finding himself unable as the partially hollowfied noble stalked around him, settled behind him, then brushed warm lips against the side of his throat, "S-stop!"

He flinched as sharp white fangs plunged into his skin and Byakuya's sensuous mouth latched onto the sensitive spot between Kisuke's neck and shoulder.

"Byakuya…" he whispered, his knees weakening as the noble fed on his blood and reiatsu, draining him until he started to fall.

The noble's strong arms lifted him, carrying him out of the bathroom and laying him on the bed. The shopkeeper's still wet body shivered, not just because of the cold, but due to the icy, deadly eyes that gazed raptly down at him and the intermittent drops of chilly water that leaked off of the noble and fell onto Kiuske's exposed flesh. A tremor went through him as Byakuya slid onto the bed, winding his body around Kisuke's and laying the side of his masked face against the dazed shopkeeper's.

"Don't kill me, all right?" Kisuke managed, closing his eyes as Byakuya's hand curled around his waist and sought his very alert privates, "Take what you need, but try to leave some. You don't want me to die right now. I think you'd be next."

He blinked in surprise as the noble began to emit a soft sound that was somewhere between purring and soft clicking. Whatever it was, it seemed to soothe Kisuke's mind, relaxing him to the point where he was sure Byakuya could have ripped out his throat and he wouldn't have realized he was dying. The noble's graceful hand stroked his chest searchingly, lazily caressing his erect nipples, then traced their way downward, pausing to play in the fine hairs below his navel, then making him groan wantonly as they finally reached his engorged member to offer him even more reason to lose track of everything else. He wasn't sure how the words got past his lips, but he had never uttered them before in that way to anyone.

"Oh my god, I love you!" he gasped, giving himself over completely.

He slid even farther away from reality as Byakuya rose over him and followed the path his hands had taken, with soft, seeking lips and a lusty pink tongue. As though the blonde man's flesh had become a sort of wicked delight, the noble's pouting mouth savored every inch, beginning with his sensitive throat and slowly crawling downwards. Kisuke opened his eyes and moaned on ecstasy at the entrancing sight of the white fleshed, winged spectacle that bowed over him, treasuring him like a precious delicacy, while a red glint in the depths of Byakuya's grey eyes promised certain death at some point.

 _But not yet._

 _This is part of the mating ritual. He will continue to do this to keep the reiatsu in his body stable. I can infuse him with my reiatsu to stave off the feeding so that I can recover properly, but I will have to keep him close to me._

 _Damn, if the hollow form doesn't kill me, his shinigami form will. So I guess if I'm going to die, I should enjoy it, ne?_

Kisuke watched raptly as Byakuya licked and suckled hungrily at the hard, raised nubs on his chest, then clenched the shopkeeper's sides with quaking hands as he kissed the soft flesh of Kisuke's belly, sinking teasingly into his navel, then nibbling his way downward to feed voraciously on the blonde man's vulnerable nether region. Kisuke panted harshly, enduring the intense contact for as long as he could before toppling the exotic, winged beauty and entering him from behind, lying on the noble's sweating back and feeling the soft wings flutter erratically in reaction, then slowly settle into a steady, buzzing rhythm. It didn't take long with his hips thrusting, hard and fast, the soft wings tickling his flesh and Byakuya's light, erotic moans teasing him to bring on the moment of blind ecstasy and resultant shudders of completion. Kisuke remained stretched out on the noble's back, offering soft, sleepy kisses on the back of a damp, white shoulder and keeping their spent bodies connected until he started to drift off. With a reluctant sigh, he lifted himself slightly and curved a hand around Byakuya's masked face.

"Sorry about this part," he apologized.

He pulled the mask free and backed off of the bed, watching with troubled eyes as it slowly disintegrated in his hands, and on the bed, Byakuya's body shed its pretty wings and the white skin began to regain its more natural pale color. Byakuya hissed furiously, writhing and snapping viciously at the shopkeeper as he morphed gradually back into his shinigami form, then quivered unsteadily and collapsed on the bed again.

"Phew!" Kisuke sighed, "Captain, you are one dangerous beauty, aren't you? Now…just what the heck am I going to do? This is crazy…really crazy. And I'm used to most kinds of crazy, but this beats it all."

"Ugh," Byakuya groaned, lifting himself and leaning over the edge of the bed to vomit into a nearby trash can, "Wh-what are you going on about?"

Kisuke stiffened for a moment, then relaxed as Byakuya dropped back onto the bed and curled around his pillow.

"Why am I soaking wet? And why am I naked?" making the shopkeeper tense again.

"Eh, you uh…passed out in the shower," Kisuke explained, "I had to uh, bring you to the bed quickly and…"

"And it was necessary for you to be naked as well to heal me?" Byakuya muttered, lifting his head slightly to glare at Kisuke.

"Oh that," Kisuke said, thinking quickly, "After I put you in bed and made sure you were okay, I wanted a shower myself, but I heard something going on out here and rushed out to…"

"Fine," Byakuya sighed, cutting him off and curling more tightly around his pillow, "But why am I in your bedroom?"

"You don't remember?" Kisuke said, smiling sheepishly, "There was a big fight in Hueco Mundo, and injured soldiers had to be brought here. There weren't enough rooms, so I put you in here because I wasn't sleeping anyway."

"I see. Does that mean you are leaving now?" Byakuya asked bluntly.

"That's a little harsh for the guy whose been up all hours taking care of you."

"My apologies for not being more polite," Byakuya said dryly, "It must be the nausea affecting my temperament."

"Oh no, Captain," Kisuke said under his breath as he threw a yukata around himself and headed out of the room, "You're definitely acting like you usually do…at least now you are."

"What was that?" Byakuya growled, turning an angry grey eye on the shopkeeper.

"Nothing," Kisuke said, smirking, "Sweet dreams, Captain Kuchiki."


	3. A Father's Eyes

**Chapter 3: A Father's Eyes**

 **(I can't find the PM for who requested this, but here you go! Love to all, Spunky)**

Kisuke rubbed his eyes and sat back on his knees at the side of the last of the injured soldiers, weariness wracking his body and a heavy ache in his head. He let out a shaky breath and sucked in another, trying to force himself to stay awake.

"This one's done," he yawned, passing responsibility for the man's care over to Hanataro, "Just keep'n eye on'im. Watch for signs of infection," he managed, tripping over his words.

"Hai," Hanataro said, studying the exhausted shopkeeper's haggard expression.

He shook his head and reached into his uniform, withdrawing a small round pill.

"Do you need to stay awake anymore?" he asked, "You can have this. It helps me stay awake when we have to work around the clock during emergencies."

"Yeah, thanks, kid," Kisuke said, accepting the stimulant pill, "I'm gonna crash for now, but I heard there might be more coming in. Come and tell me when they arrive."

"I will, sir!"

"Seeya."

Kisuke dragged himself to his feet and stumbled to the ladder that led out of the underground training room. He climbed out of the room and staggered down the hallway and into his bedroom, entering before remembering that Byakuya was using his quarters. The noble sat in the bed, reading a set of papers that he set down as the shopkeeper entered the room, glanced at him, then started to walk out again.

"Sorry, Captain, I'll just…"

"Get in the bed," Byakuya said tersely, "I know you have been up all night, healing the soldiers that were brought here."

Kisuke sighed gratefully and crawled into the bed, barely remembering to shrug off his outer layers of clothing. He dropped off to sleep almost instantly, but into a restless slumber filled with dreams of the strangely beautiful hollows that had attacked Byakuya and him, leaving them hollow too, and pursued by soldiers bent on killing them. He gave a dragging sigh of relief at being rescued from a particularly nasty one of being endlessly chased, by a gentle brushing of something soft on his face. But the feeling of relief morphed into a kind of dark wonder as he found Byakuya, winged and his face decorated with the hauntingly lovely hollow mask that seemed to accompany each infusion urge.

"I guess there's no arguing with you," he whispered, watching as the hollowfied noble slowly bared him and latched onto his throat to feed.

 _Oh kami, the urge to have sex with him was already strong to begin with, but it gets even stronger each time, and now it feels almost unbearable._

Even feeling weak and dizzy, he eventually reached his limit and turned, forcing the glow-winged beauty down onto his belly and watching raptly as the hollowfied man's thighs spread and his bottom rose wantonly, teasing him mercilessly as Kisuke moved forward to claim him. The subsequent exchange of hard, fast undulations stole Kisuke's breath all over again, and he felt an even stronger urge than he had before to roll onto his back and let his hollowfied lover tear out his throat. He barely managed to regain his mind in time to avoid that hauntingly beautiful death, and he dropped the hollowfied noble onto the bed with a shock of kido.

"Gods, I'm sorry," he apologized in a shaky voice, "But I'm beginning to think that those hollows may build up to eating their mate. And I don't wanna find that out by getting to the point that I let you consume me. Rest for awhile, okay? I'm gonna go and think on this."

He took a hasty shower, half expecting Byakuya to come after him. But the noble didn't appear, and when Kisuke left the bathroom and walked into the bedroom, he found Byakuya cutely wrapped around a pile of pillows and deeply sleeping. It felt wrenching to leave the noble that way and to move on to the laboratory, where he buried himself in his research, poring over his former notes as well as every hollow listing and related article he could consume. His heart raced in his chest as the picture of their situation gradually cleared in his mind.

 _Okay, so we have a type of transformative hollow that shares a dangerous mating ritual with a chosen partner. During initial mating, there is a high likelihood the father will be killed outright, which is why this type of hollow is particularly rare. If the father survives, the mating ritual is rigorous, with daily matings, and each one a roll of the dice to see if the father will survive. During mating, the father imparts reiatsu and blood, while the bearer…_

He paused, looking closely at readings he had taken on Byakuya during their matings.

"Huh…"

He frowned and narrowed his eyes, thinking deeply.

 _He's emitting odd vibrations. It seems it is in the sounds he makes and the flicker of his wings. The effect is hypnotic, and the more matings that occur, the more entranced the father becomes. By the time the baby arrives, the father will likely be putty in the bearer's hands and will be devoured to provide nourishment for the bearer, who will then probably be nursing young._

He paused, blinking and smirking, a little blush on his cheeks at imagining the lovely noble, holding their newborn to a pale breast and wearing a melting smile.

 _Except that if I don't figure out a way to stop the increasing effect of the hypnosis, I won't live to see that…_

He focused, then, on recordings of the hypnotic sounds and spent the next several hours analyzing them. In the second hour, he began to test ways of countering the signal, then countering in a way that did not interfere with the necessary infusions and repeated coitus. He breathed a sigh of deep relief as he completed his experiments and prepared to test what he had learned.

He left the laboratory and started back down the hallway to his room. Tessai appeared ahead of him and smiled in greeting.

"Ah, Boss, I was just taking tea to you and Captain Kuchiki."

"I'll take it in," Kisuke offered, accepting the tray, "Did that other group of injured ever arrive?" he asked.

"Yes, but we managed fine and they are all resting," Tessai reported, "Tetsuya Kuchiki proved extremely capable in their healing. I sent him to Ichigo to make sure he rested."

"I don't know how much rest he'll get," Kisuke snickered softly, "but, thanks."

Kisuke watched as Tessai turned back and headed for the kitchen, then he turned towards his room, pausing to take a steadying breath before entering. He was unsurprised, although, of course, sympathetic, at finding Byakuya leaned over the edge of the bed and vomiting into a trash bin. The noble caught sight of the shopkeeper as he sat back on the bed, holding his stomach and wearing a discomfited look.

"My apologies," he said unhappily, "I seem to be ill."

"It's okay," Kisuke assured him, retrieving the trash bin and setting it outside the bedroom door, "Tessai will take care of that. I wanna have a look at you."

Byakuya nodded and sat quietly as Kiuske examined him.

"Well, your physical injuries have healed just fine," he commented, "Your reiatsu output is normal."

"I do not feel normal," Byakuya said, frowning, "I feel nauseous and oddly weak."

"Well, you have been through a lot," Kisuke chuckled, "That's why I requested having you stay here longer. I hope you plan to do that."

Byakuya considered the request quietly, then nodded.

"I will send a hell butterfly to request rehabilitation leave," he decided, "I would like you to get to the bottom of this. I feel strange sometimes…as though I have periods of unconsciousness or extreme disorientation. I wake thoroughly later, often aching strangely or feeling full, but weary. When I am fully awake, I suffer nausea, vomiting and unexpected emotional intensity."

"Well, I've been researching that," Kisuke told him.

 _I have to be cautious, but I really do need to tell him. I just…hope he doesn't kill me. I just figured out how to keep that hollow form from killing me during the infusions._

"Something tells me that I will not like hearing the results," Byakuya said, his frown deepening, "Will you just be honest with me? I know that the hollows that injured me were transformative."

"Yeah, about that…"

Byakuya's frown turned into a decidedly nasty scowl.

"Oh…do not tell me that…"

"No!" Kisuke exclaimed, placing his hands on Byakuya's biceps as the noble started to come to his feet, "Calm down, please, Byakuya. You and I do need to talk. But, you have to stay calm and listen to everything I say."

"Are you going to tell me that I fully hollowfied?" Byakuya snapped angrily, "For kami's sake, you _know_ that Central 46…"

"Yeah, if they knew what had happened, they would have ordered soldiers of the Gotei to kill you, but wait! Wait a second, okay?" he said, sucking in a worried breath at the heavy rise in the noble's reiatsu, "Byakuya, the truth is, although you hollowfied, you were also affected by my bankai."

Byakuya gave him a stymied look.

"You used your bankai on me?" he asked incredulously.

He paused and frowned.

"You achieved captaincy based on testing and multiple captain approvals. You never said you had a bankai. What power, exactly, did you use on me? And how does this excuse you from following Central 46 mandates that clearly indicated you should humanely euthanize me?"

"Okay," Kisuke said bracingly, "Just…hear me out and don't kill me. Right now, I'm the only one who can keep you both alive and not a hollow."

Byakuya's face paled noticeably.

"Kami, I really did hollowfy," he breathed, looking down at himself, "But I am not a hollow now. Kisuke Urahara, what did you do? What on earth can you say that explains all of this?"

Kisuke gave him a brief nod.

"Okay, you want answers? I'll give you some," he agreed, "But I need you to listen to everything I have to say first, and then we will decide what can be done."

"Why don't you start with the hollows?" Byakuya suggested, "They were transformative?"

"Yeah," Kisuke affirmed, "I woke after being knocked out and found one of the two decapitated. I followed your tracks and found you collapsed, with the second hollow feeding on you."

"Oh," Byakuya said, going a shade paler.

"The hollow was talking to you. It said that you had killed its mate, just before they would have mated. Then, it said it was going to use you."

"It was going to use me," Byakuya repeated in a shocked whisper, "Dare I ask how?"

"I'm not sure you wanna know," Kisuke said, choosing honesty over a well meant lie, "I did say that they were about to mate. The thing was going to implant your body with its offspring somehow, in a way that I think we both know, would have ended with you dying painfully. I figured you didn't want that, and I had no other way to defeat such a powerful and oddball hollow, so I used my bankai."

"And that means…?" Byakuya inquired uneasily.

"It means that my power entered your body and restructured you."

"You…?" Byakuya managed, dumbfounded, "What does that mean?"

The restructuring, first, got you up and allowed you to fight the hollow that had injured and incapacitated you. You slaughtered him."

"But, that was not all?" Byakuya asked, already suspecting the answer.

"That wasn't all," Kisuke agreed, "See, I knew that if you fully transformed, you would be in violation of Central 46 law and we would have to euthanize you. As much as I joke around with you, I don't really want to have to kill you, any more than you want to die."

Byakuya stared at him wordlessly.

"I cleansed your body of the hollow reiatsu and I used a preventative injection, a compound I used on the vizard captains when Aizen transformed them. It left you a shinigami, but…you also have a hollow form. I can…show you. I had monitors running in the lab. Are you sure you want to see?"

"I need to know," Byakuya said, folding his hands in his lap and gazing down at them, "If I am a danger…"

"Well, as long as we keep the hollow under control as you learn to handle it, you'll only be endangering yourself and me. Byakuya, I brought the vizard captains through this. I can help you!"

"While I am, of course, grateful for your efforts to save my life, I wonder if this goes too far," Byakuya said solemnly, "I am a powerful captain."

"So were the others," Kisuke argued, "and all of them are alive and didn't kill anyone but enemies!"

"But the lengths to which you had to go!" Byakuya exclaimed, his reiatsu spiking dangerously, "You know, the vizard situation is the reason you were banished. You were only just reinstated and given back a place of honor."

"Hey, let me remind you that the reason I was banished was because _Aizen_ framed me for _creating_ the vizards. Central 46 knows now that I wasn't the one who transformed them, and _you_ know that I didn't hollowfy you!"

"No, but you did transform me!" Byakuya snapped.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to save your life!" Kisuke snapped back, his usually even temper slipping, "Byakuya, I had to make a decision…a fast one. Can you really blame me for not wanting to kill a friend? I did what I had to do, to try to stop and undo the transformation."

"And what happened?" Byakuya demanded, "I am not cured!"

"No," Kisuke agreed emphatically, "but you are also not a hollow. As of right now, there is no reason to euthanize you. And you may hate me for making you a vizard, but damn it, it was better than losing you, especially after you saved me from dying! And everything I've done since was because I didn't want you to die. If that makes me a horrible person, so be it! I'm horrible! I'll be horrible all you want, as long as you don't die!"

A long silence opened up between the two men as Byakuya struggled with the truth of what had happened and tried desperately to make sense of it.

"It's a bad situation," Kisuke went on solemnly, "but I would take a bad situation over you dying any day."

Byakuya wasn't sure how his flesh could go any paler, but somehow managed it as he studied Kisuke's downcast face and haggard look.

"You've been beside yourself," he mused, "While I have been recovering, you have been…"

"Trying to find a cure," Kisuke affirmed, "Byakuya, short and sweet, there is no way to get rid of the vizard form. And that's not even the only complication. I want to give you the best possible outcome, but to do that, I need your full cooperation. I need to…be able to tell you everything and have you not kill yourself or me. We need to be able to work together. If not for us, then for the baby. If you can't think of yourself and you can't think of me, at least think about our kid!"

Kisuke froze at his own words, his insides clenching as Byakuya's face registered comprehension, then dark, furious curiosity. He glared up at the shopkeeper, his reiatsu burning white hot.

"Th-there is a child?" he managed in a frighteningly calm sounding tone.

"Yeah."

Byakuya took a steadying breath, suddenly remembering the symptoms he had been suffering.

"And…will you tell me please, _where is this child_ , Kisuke Urahara?"

Byakuya's reiatsu rose again, until the shopkeeper broke out in a heavy sweat and his heart pounded in reaction. He could barely force the words out.

"The baby is inside you."


	4. Beautiful Monster

**Chapter 4: Beautiful Monster**

Tetsuya felt a feathery touch of warm lips on the side of his neck and a smile rose on his face. He kept his eyes closed as he breathed slowly, enjoying the slow play of those lips along his throat, then brushing the length of a delicate collarbone. And while those treasuring lips worked, Ichigo's strong hands opened his yukata and slid along Tetsuya's porcelain flesh, the fingers slowing to tease the dark-haired man's raised pink nubs, teasing him sweetly, until he could hold himself back no longer. Tetsuya's eyes opened and met Ichigo's, earning a melting smile from the handsome Shiba heir as he returned to Tetsuya's hungry mouth for a bout of deep, wet kisses.

"Good morning, beautiful," Ichigo greeted him, curving a warm palm around his cheek as the two kissed again, "It felt so good to sleep next to you last night."

Tetsuya blushed.

"I mean, it would have been amazing to have done something besides just sleep, but even just sleeping next to you all night without doing anything is pure heaven. I love you."

"I love you too," Tetsuya answered, heat flaring on his cheeks as Ichigo continued to kiss and caress him, "Ichigo, you've been so patient with me."

"I wanna do this right," the ginger-haired man whispered, tracing Tetsuya's comely face, then lacing their fingers together, "I've never been with anyone and I want our first time together to be really special."

"Any time with you is special," Tetsuya whispered back, his delicate hands holding his boyfriend's face gently, "It's your birthday today, ne?"

"Yeah," Ichigo answered, his own blush darkening.

"Then, you shall have this gift to celebrate," Tetsuya offered, "If you want to, we can…"

Tetsuya paused, the flush on his face darkening and his throat tightening so that he couldn't continue.

Ichigo's smile brightened beautifully.

"You sure?" he asked, "I mean, I know that you had a really bad experience in the noble's prison when you were younger. Tetsuya, I don't want to hurt you. Do you think that it's really okay for us to make love?"

"I haven't been with anyone since I was freed, but then, I have never felt this close to anyone, either," Tetsuya reasoned, "We have been together for several months, so we aren't rushing."

Ichigo arched an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly.

"But, how do you feel about me being inside you?" he asked cautiously, "You think you'll be scared, or that it could hurt? I mean, I'lltry not to hurt you, but I don't exactly know what I'm doing here. I've never, you know, done this before."

Tetsuya bit at his lips, his insides tickling with mingled anxiety and deep desire. He swallowed and met Ichigo's golden brown eyes.

"I know how to avoid it being painful," he said, closing his eyes against the embarrassment of talking so openly about something so intimate, "I brought lubricant and…and I have a protection charm."

"That's right," Ichigo mused, nuzzling his cheek, "I sometimes forget you are a breeder male."

He paused, thinking for a moment, then he gave Tetsuya another melting smile.

"You know, someday I wanna marry you, Tetsuya, and I wanna have kids with you."

"Ichigo!" Tetsuya whispered, blinking against the sudden burning in his eyes.

"Yeah, I never thought I'd feel that way about anyone. I remember how we used to laugh together about that when we were just best friends. I didn't think that anyone would ever make me want those things. But you're different. I never feel pressured or scared of the future when I'm with you. I can only think of how beautiful it will be, sharing it with you."

"I think about it too," Tetsuya replied, snuggling closer to him, "I never thought I'd want to be with someone again or that I would look forward to trying to have children after losing my first child, but you have helped me to put the past behind me. I will never forget Naoki or our child, but you have shown me that my future doesn't have to be empty of those things that we wanted. You and I will build the happy family that Naoki and I dreamed of. In that way, we can honor ourselves and his memory both."

"We will," Ichigo promised, "We'll start here…now."

Tetsuya took a deeper breath, relaxing his body beneath Ichigo's. He reached into the nightstand drawer and removed a small bottle he had placed there the night before. He offered the bottle to Ichigo, whose blush returned as he accepted it. Ichigo bathed his fingers in the fluid, then leaned over and began kissing Tetsuya again as he slid his hand down to begin a slow, thorough preparation.

"I don't mean to embarrass you, but is there anything you need to know?" Tetsuya asked.

"Eh," Ichigo said, his blush darkening, "My dad told me stuff about sex in general, and when you and I started dating seriously, I asked Kisuke about it. He told me what I needed to know."

Tetsuya nodded and relaxed again, returning Ichigo's increasingly amorous kisses as the ginger-haired man's fingers probed and caressed him relentlessly. He waited until he felt a questioning touch on his thigh, then he spread his legs, smiling as Ichigo lifted his muscular body and postioned himself at the dark-haired noble's entrance.

"This doesn't change the fact that you're my best friend," Ichigo whispered as he slowly joined their bodies, "You're always going to be my best friend and the love of my life, Tetsuya."

"And you will be mine," Tetsuya whispered back, his voice catching as Ichigo's hips moved, then he began a flurry of slow, deep thrusts. Tetsuya's back arched and he met his lover's movements eagerly, his slender hands clenching at Ichigo's strong shoulders as the two men writhed erotically together.

"Oh my god, it feels even better than I thought it would!" Ichigo panted, "It feels so good, Tetsuya!"

Tetsuya tried to answer, but could only moan and thrash beneath his ginger-haired lover as the deep penetration and teasing caresses brought him to the brink. A last barrage of heated thrusts carried the two over the edge and pleasure raked their joined bodies as they climaxed together. They collapsed on the bed, panting hard and exchanging slower kisses as they recovered. Ichigo slid his fingers along Tetsuya's sweaty cheek, grinning widely.

"That was… _amazing_. I knew loving you was the right thing. I just hope Byakuya isn't going to be too mad when he finds out we're having sex. He's pretty protective of you."

"He knows that you are my best friend," Tetsuya assured his handsome mate, "and I have been open with him that things were changing between us."

"Oh? And what did he say?" Ichigo asked, smirking knowingly, "He's gonna kill me if I fuck this up?"

"That," Tetsuya chuckled, "and…that there is no one he knows who he would trust more with my heart."

Ichigo stared at Tetsuya in surprise.

"Byakuya said that?" he said wonderingly.

"Yes…and then he reassured me that he would kill you with his bare hands if you disappointed him about that."

"Yeah," Ichigo laughed nervously, "that sounds like Byakuya."

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya glared at Kisuke, his grey eyes blazing with fury as the shopkeeper's words echoed in his head.

"The baby is _inside me_ , you say?" he repeated, his lips curling, "This means that you…?"

"It _means_ that when the hollow attacked you, it primed your body for its mating ritual," Kisuke explained hastily, "I got the reiatsu out and my bankai kept you from fully transforming, but apparently, none of that stopped the priming of your body. Your body was prepared for mating, and when the urge came on…"

"I don't think I can hear this," Byakuya said, waving him off, "I cannot believe, first, that this is happening, and secondly, that you _let_ this happen!"

"You think I _let_ you hollowfy and attack me?" the shopkeeper snapped, "That's what it was. I knew you were affected and I didn't want to hurt you. I did try to stop you, but the hollow transformation made you unnaturally strong and it affected my ability to resist you!"

"Your ability to resist me? How?!" Byakuya demanded, "Exactly how were you affected?"

"I…there was a hypnotic sound…a, uh, buzzing of your wings and a sort of purring, clicking noise that affected me…us! You latched onto my throat and I couldn't pull away or you would've torn it out. Byakuya, neither one of us was in any position to stop this. Really!"

"Is that so?" the Kuchiki leader hissed softly, his reiatsu glowing a fierce, dangerous pink and bright petals beginning to form around him, "I think you are wrong about that. You see, you could have stopped all of this if you had _obeyed the damned law and killed me_!"

"I know that!" Kisuke shouted in an uncharacteristic loss of control, "Yeah, I could've stopped it all by killing you! You wanna hate me for not being able to cut down the one I've been more than halfway in love with for…pretty fucking much _forever_? GO AHEAD!"

Byakuya went silent for a moment, staring at the shopkeeper in dismay.

"You…?" he began.

His voice failed him and he continued to stare at the shopkeeper incredulously.

"Kisuke Urahara, that is just not possible," he whispered almost dazedly, "You and that, that _demon cat_ tortured me when I was a child! You could not get enough of tormenting me."

"Y-yeah, I uh, that was shitty, I agree," Kisuke stammered, a little flush rising on his face, "I just thought you were cute when you were mad. I guess I was also frustrated because you were the heir and I was just a commoner who had wormed his way into being raised by Yoruichi's family. I knew I would never be good enough for someone like you, so yeah, I picked on you because of that. I'm sorry."

"I think you should be more sorry for allowing me to become a…a…I do not even really know what I am anymore!"

Kisuke took a steadying breath.

"You're a vizard," he said firmly, "There's nothing illegal about keeping a vizard alive."

"None of the vizard captains and vice captains are engaged in forced mating rituals brought on by hollow incursion," Byakuya snapped.

"No, no, they're not," Kisuke agreed, recovering some of his composure as he sensed Byakuya was beginning to calm, "This is a new area of exploration in the biology of vizards, but we can handle this, Byakuya."

"We can _handle_ it, you say?" Byakuya said scathingly, "You mean that we will continue mating periodically and conducting infusions until…until what? You know as well as I do that this…this _child_ could be anything from a vizard to a transformative hollow! How are we supposed to deal with that? Do you think that I can do this? You think that I can carry a child to term, have this baby and…if it is a…?"

Kisuke gave him a look of silent torment.

"You have not really thought this through, have you?"

Kisuke placed his hands over his face and rubbed vigorously for a moment.

"I've been doing crisis control," he sighed, "It hasn't left much time for anything else."

"I suppose your actions so far make more sense put in the light of your confession to me," Byakuya said solemnly, "But if you mean what you say about having been more than halfway in love with me for all of this time, then you know better than to fail me now."

Kisuke stared at the Kuchiki leader speechlessly, earning a look of reproach from the piqued noble.

"I will make this simple for you," Byakuya went on, "What we thought or what we wanted is in the past now. Our choices about killing me or not killing me ended when you decided that you could not kill me. We have to let go of the past if we are going to deal with what is happening right here and right now."

"That's pretty sensible, especially for a guy who just found out that he's a vizard, that he's been engaging in a mating ritual with a guy he dislikes and that he's pregnant now by that guy with what could just be a real powerful Kuchiki heir or could be a damned scary hollow. Does that about cover it?" Kisuke sighed.

"I believe so," Byakuya said more quietly, "except that I do not dislike you."

Kisuke found a little stupid, hopeful grin on his face.

"You don't," he chuckled skeptically.

"I dislike your shadiness and the lengths to which you and the demon cat went to annoy me when I was a child. I do not understand how your behavior equates with being more than halfway in love with me for all of this time, but I was raised differently from you. I was a noble heir and you received your moral training from a person who does not know a thing about morality. Neither you nor I can change how we were raised, but we can make better choices now. And now that you are father to what could turn out to be the Kuchiki heir, you had better be ready to make far better decisions than you have in the past, especially when it comes to our child and to me."

"You, uh, say that almost like you think that I could someday have a chance of you…"

"Someday, maybe," Byakuya said, earning a look of surprise from the usually astute shopkeeper, "We shall see what happens."

Kisuke's jaw hit the floor and he found himself unable to think of anything to say in response. Byakuya gave him a look of reproach.

"Enough of that. What are we going to do next?" the noble asked icily, "My insides are aching, I feel hungry and I am beginning to be aroused by you."

Kisuke let out a heated breath.

"There's nothing for us to do. I think if it's like things have been up to now, nature will just, as they say, take its course."

"And this is all right with you?" Byakuya asked blithely, "You do not mind me roughly handling you?"

Kisuke frowned.

"You haven't been rough, really."

"You are lying," Byakuya said, glowering at him, "I did not fail to notice the bruises under your yukata."

"Oh," Kisuke said, pulling his clothing more tightly around him, "Sorry. I can't really heal them myself and I didn't want anyone, you know, knowing."

"Understandably," Byakuya reasoned, "Then, before I lose my mind and begin mauling you, let me see to those."

"Wh-what?" Kisuke asked, blinking.

"I am going to heal you," Byakuya insisted, "There is no danger in me doing so, is there?"

"Ah, no, I don't think so, but…"

"Then, I will heal you. Remove your yukata."

"Aw, come on. I just made a pretty big confession to you. I'm not immune to embarrassment and I can't help that I'm already kinda hard for you."

"You want me to leave you in pain because you are embarrassed that you confessed you have feelings for me?"

"You don't think I deserve a little pain?" Kisuke said, smirking.

"Of course you do," Byakuya said matter-of-factly, but I was not raised to give people exactly what they deserve. I was raised to be somewhat compassionate towards others."

"Even lawbreakers?" Kisuke snickered.

"You are not breaking the law at the moment."

"Yeah, not right now, but we're going to cross a line pretty soon here if I read your reiatsu right, so…"

Kisuke let his yukata slide down, revealing his deeply bruised chest, shoulders and back. He felt a warm flicker in his chest at Byakuya's warmer expression and the gentleness in his hands as they moved over his damaged flesh, slowly easing the pain and making the bruises disappear.

"Uh, you know you're really getting to me, don't you?" Kisuke whispered, closing his eyes against the delicious feeling.

His insides clenched and tickled as Byakuya's chin came to rest on the back of his shoulder and the noble's bare front pressed up against him. A shudder of mingled arousal and fright passed through him as the sound of fluttering wings and an erotic, feral whine that sounded close to his ear.

Sharp fangs found his throat as the hollowfied noble began to feed.

 _I wonder how long this will go on_ , the shopkeeper wondered, _before the baby's reiatsu is matured and he kills me for real._

 _I can almost thinking of dying in his arms as a beautiful thing._


	5. Confessions

**Chapter 5: Confessions**

 **(Sincere thanks to those supporting this story. I know it's not one of my most popular, but I am really enjoying Kisuke and Byakuya together. It's a fun pairing that blends feisty exchanges with some nostalgic reflections and heartwarming connections. I look forward to continuing the exploration and I'm glad to have all of you along. :) Love to all, Spunky)**

Byakuya left Kisuke's bed, running fingers through the tumbled strands of his black hair as he headed for the changing area. He glanced briefly at his Gotei uniform.

 _It hardly makes sense to dress normally, given that I am on medical leave and it would look suspicious if I continued to file paperwork and reports. Also, I think it would feel wrong to be wearing my uniform and the markers of my clan affiliation while being possessed of hollow urges to repeatedly mate in a horrific, barbaric fashion with that…_

Byakuya stopped in front of the full length mirror, gazing quietly at himself.

 _I want to call him a mad scientist, but that appellation would be unfair, in light of his constant efforts to support and protect Soul Society. He was not actually guilty of the crime for which he was banished. Aizen framed him. He may have done other unsavory things, but his intent is always to protect the innocent and to defend Soul Society. I suppose I could hang on to my grudge against him for the way he teamed up with Yoruichi to torment me as a young heir, but it was the behavior of a much less mature and infatuated young man._

 _I think it would be better, given our current circumstances, for me to let bygones be bygones and cooperate to the best of my ability._

He slipped out of the borrowed yukata and gave his uniform another glance before exiting the changing area and proceeding, naked, into the closet. He searched the clothing there and found a warm and soft burgundy colored yukata that seemed to fit well. Walking back to the mirror, he set the yukata in place, tying it at the waist as the bedroom door opened and Kisuke entered the room. He paused and gave an approving nod.

"That looks good on you," he complimented the noble.

"Thank you," Byakuya responded solemnly, "I hope you do not mind if I borrow it. I have only my uniform, as I have not yet sent word to Kuchiki Manor to request more clothing."

"Not a problem," the shopkeeper chuckled, "You're welcome to borrow anything you want, well…except for the gigais in the back. You don't want to look like me."

"Not that there is anything unattractive about your physical body," Byakuya replied, "but I do prefer to wear my own face."

"Makes sense."

Byakuya gave him a questioning look and Kisuke blinked and looked back silently.

"You came to speak to me?" Byakuya prompted him.

"Oh yeah," the shopkeeper said, grinning sheepishly, "I have some conclusions I was able to draw about your condition so far."

"And?"

"Well," Kisuke said, sitting down on the end of the bed as Byakuya remained standing and facing him, "we seem to have fallen into a pattern as far as the mating is concerned. Morning and night. When we wake up and when we get ready to sleep. If it stays that way for another day or two, we can assume it's safe for you to return home as much as you want in between those hours."

Byakuya nodded.

"But you also had me undergo a number of stress related tests to see how my hollow form would react."

"Yeah," Kisuke affirmed, "Sorry for getting you riled with the testing."

"I am fine. But, did you reveal a correlation between mood and any tendency to shift to hollow form?"

"Yes," Kisuke answered, "Sorry, I know that complicates things, but it's not like we should be surprised by it. I mean, Ichigo and the other vizards have that same connection between emotional level and the hollow transformation. They have it, and they have trained to keep it under control. You'll do that too, but things are gonna be more complicated because you're pregnant."

Byakuya nodded briefly in acceptance. He moved to the bed and sat down beside Kisuke, taking a few steadying breaths.

"What can I do?" he asked, looking down at the barely visible bump that had begun to form on his abdomen, "Do I need to obtain more leave time? I can certainly work that out, if it is necessary."

"It might be," Kisuke admitted, "We're going to have to be really careful if we don't want this to get out."

"Well, it going to get out anyway," Byakuya reasoned, "There will be no hiding from the clan that my heir and I are at least vizards. The only reason it makes sense for me not to explain everything to them now is that our child is not protected from Central 46 statutes regarding shinigami-hollow relations until he or she is born. I would not be allowed to have a child that it is suspected could be a hollow."

"Right," Kisuke agreed, "you and I are agreed. We need to keep this under wraps until you deliver."

"Then, I will need to approach the Kuchiki elders and explain what happened, hopefully gaining their support, as long as the heir is at least a vizard and not a hollow."

"That's gonna be a tough sell, you know," Kisuke said worriedly.

"Leave it to me," Byakuya said firmly, "I know clan relations and I know my relatives well enough to gain the support I need so that the three of us are protected."

Byakuya didn't miss the slightly mystified look the shopkeeper gave him in reply.

"The three of us?" Kisuke repeated, barely fending off a smirk.

"Of course," Byakuya said, looking out the window, "You are the father of my child. You are also protecting us so that the child will be born safely. Whatever my feelings about your past actions, I do realize that you are our most capable protector, and that you and I must work together so that the child and I are not just killed before we know if the killing would be justified."

Byakuya paused, still looking out the window.

"Will you be able to do it, should it become necessary?" he asked more softly, "I know you could force yourself to kill me, if you had to, but…if…"

Byakuya's breath caught as the shopkeeper's hand touched his. He stiffened for a moment, but made no objection as Kisuke's fingers entwined with his.

"I'll do it," he promised, "but only if I have to. You can trust me."

Byakuya's eyes closed and he drew another slow breath.

"I know I can."

"Really?" Kisuke asked, looking amused.

Byakuya's dark eyes opened and fastened on the shopkeeper's lighter grey ones.

"You made the decision to risk this…to disobey the laws that we were intended to follow. You did not do this lightly. You are working hard to give this child and me the best possible chance of a good outcome. I trust you."

"Okay," Kisuke replied, his eyes serious and the smile gone from his face, "Byakuya, I won't let you down. I won't let our kid down. No matter what it takes, I am going to protect you both."

Byakuya nodded tentatively and stood, extracting his fingers from the shopkeeper's. I think I would like to go for a walk in the park by the river."

Kisuke nodded.

"Is Tetsuya still here?"

"Yeah," Kisuke affirmed, "Once there was a room for him, he moved back in here to be close to you. I can send him in now, if you like."

"Yes, I need to tell him. I think that if we are going to be successful, then we need a few trustworthy protectors."

Kisuke grinned.

"Tetsuya and Ichigo?"

"Yes, I was thinking that they would both understand our predicament and be amenable to helping, even though we will be continuing to tread on some of the Serieitei's strictest laws."

"And some of nature's," the shopkeeper sighed, "I agree. I'll be happy to talk to Ichigo, you know, to get him out of the way while you and Tetsuya talk."

"That young man seems to be spending a great deal of time around my cousin," Byakuya commented.

"You noticed," Kisuke said, looking amused, "Hang on a sec. I'll send Tetsuya in."

Byakuya sat silently on the bed, his head slightly bowed as he waited for his cousin's arrival.

 _I barely know how I am going to say this aloud. Tetsuya will not hesitate to help me, of course, but it is putting this into words and saying it out loud to someone other than the ones of us who are directly involved. It makes the situation feel more painfully real, having others who know. But it is necessary._

 _I need to carefully protect myself. I will need to have Tetsuya use his power to hide my condition. His waterforms can distort the area around the baby bump and make me appear as normal. This way, I can see to things I must in the Serieitei. I will need to confer with Shima Aderia about obtaining military leave. I only hope it will be granted, so that I can turn my attention to having the child._

He looked down at his still slim belly, contemplating how it would change.

 _I know from Tetsuya that breeder males do not increase as much in size as women do when they bear young. This is because the baby remains in reiatsu form until after the reiatsu emerges and solidifies. I do not know if this will occur in that same way. I am not sure of anything right now._

Byakuya looked up as the door opened and Tetsuya entered the room, then closed the door behind him.

"Kisuke said that you wanted to see me?" Tetsuya inquired.

"I did," Byakuya affirmed, "Tetsuya, there is something that I have to tell you."

"It looks serious," Tetsuya said, sobering, "Are you all right, Byakuya? Kisuke said that you were going to be all right? That…was true, wasn't it?"

"I must admit that neither Kisuke Urahara nor I are completely sure about that," Byakuya confessed.

Tetsuya moved to his side and sat down next to him.

"What is it?" Tetsuya asked urgently, "What has happened, _watashi no itoko_?"

Byakuya drew in a slow breath.

"The part you were told about Kisuke removing the hollow reiatsu and me stabilizing is true. I am recovering well, but…there is a complication, and it is one that will have long reaching consequences."

"What is it?" Tetsuya asked worriedly, his heart quickening as Byakuya's hand found his and he could feel that Byakuya's hand was shaking very slightly, "What has happened to you?"

"You know that I was attacked by a transformative hollow."

"Yes, and Shimas Aderia and Kuri, as well as Kenpachi Zaraki had to leave because of the resulting legal conflicts."

"Yes," Byakuya agreed, "Unfortunately, me having been attacked by a transformative hollow is only the tip of the iceberg. The truth is that I was attacked by a transformative hollow, who was involved in an intricate mating ritual."

"A mating ritual?"

"I killed the hollow that was about to be impregnated. This infuriated the hollow's mate, and he attacked me, then tried to implant his progeny in me instead."

"Byakuya!" Tetsuya exclaimed, giving him a look of horror.

"Luckily, Kisuke employed his bankai and he was able to stop this from happening. However, although he was able to remove the invading reiatsu, I was still affected in that my body had been primed for the type of mating those hollows used. I hollowfied in Kisuke's laboratory, and we mated, which left me impregnated with Kisuke's and my child."

Tetsuya stared at him, dumbfounded.

"I would go back and just tell the elders what happened, but…"

"But because there is no way to know whether your child will be shinigami, vizard or hollow, the laws say the baby must be aborted."

"Yes. As you know, that can be circumvented if the news of my pregnancy does not reach Central 46 until the baby is born. Assuming that the child is either a shinigami or a vizard, I will not be punished by Central 46 for withholding news of my pregnancy, and the living child will be protected by our laws."

"But, from now until the baby is born, you will be vulnerable to discovery. You wish for me to remain close to you and use my power to conceal your pregnancy?" Tetsuya asked, "I will, of course."

Byakuya gave him the ghost of a smile.

"I knew that you would," he said approvingly, "I am requesting a medical leave and perhaps a military sabbatical, so that no questions will be asked. I will still need to appear for certain meetings of the elders, and during those times, I will need you to be close to me and to protect me from discovery."

"Yes, of course."

"Kisuke has suggested I stay here in Karakura Town, perhaps at one of his private locations, so that I have less chances of contact with anyone who might send word back to Central 46. Wherever I go, I will need to be carefully guarded."

"I will protect you," Tetsuya promised.

"I know you will, and Kisuke is, right now, speaking to Ichigo to see if he would be willing to provide added protection as well."

"I'm sure he will," Tetsuya speculated, "Ichigo is a vizard, himself, and as you know, he is no stranger to Central 46's terrible laws."

"No," Byakuya agreed, "Tetsuya, I cannot express how much I appreciate your assistance."

"It's nothing," Tetsuya assured him, "If anything, I still owe you for all you have done for me."

"I think we are more than even, especially with this. Thank you, Tetsuya. I will let you and Ichigo know when we have firm plans in place."

"We will be ready," Tetsuya promised.

The younger Kuchiki paused and gathered himself before continuing.

"Byakuya," Tetsuya said softly.

The Kuchiki leader gave his cousin a questioning look.

"There is something I need to tell you also."

The edges of Byakuya's lips turned downward.

"This is about Ichigo?" Byakuya inquired.

"Yes. You know that he and I have been friends and drifting towards more, for some time."

"Yes, and I explained to you that, while I do not agree with everything that young man does, he has earned my respect. I will support a relationship between you, as long as Ichigo respects you."

"He does show me perfect respect," Tetusya assured him, "And he was very respectful and sensitive to my needs when our love became physical just recently."

A little nervous laugh escaped Tetsuya at the soft glare that came into his cousin's eyes.

"We are using a protection charm, as we are not ready for marriage or children," Tetsuya went on, "I just wanted to tell you, because this has made me very happy."

"I am happy for you, Tetsuya," Byakuya assured him, "Ichigo is a fine young man, and heir to a notorious, but well-meaning noble family. I am sure that he will make a fine spouse, should you reach that point…and a capable father as well."

"I think so too," Tetsuya agreed, "I am glad to have your approval. I know we will be happy together and I will always bring honor to our family's name."

"You have done more than enough of that, especially in the past two wars our society has faced. I am sure that the elders will commend a courtship with Ichigo. If he will just have his family make an official suit, I know the elders will approve it. I will as well."

"Thank you, Byakuya," Tetsuya said, smiling up at him, "and I hope that this child brings you and Kisuke happiness too. I know you are not in a relationship…"

"No," Byakuya said, trying to sound dismissive, but radiating a hint of sadness, "but even though we are not in a relationship, we will do what is best for our child."

"Who knows?" Tetsuya said hopefully, "maybe you will grow closer as the baby's arrival nears."

"I do not think that will happen," Byakuya sighed, not noticing that the door had opened and Kisuke and Ichigo had entered the room, "but one never knows, I suppose."

Kisuke cleared his throat softly and a flush erupted onto Byakuya's face and throat.

"Sorry for interrupting," he apologized.

"It is your room," Byakuya said, matter-of-factly, "Did you speak to Ichigo?"

"He did," the ginger-haired man confirmed, "and I told Kisuke I'll help you in any way I can. I'm on your side and Kisuke's. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Thank you, Ichigo," Byakuya said, trying not to notice the sad look that had found its way into Kisuke's pale grey eyes, "I appreciate your help."

"We should go and help Tessai get lunch ready," Tetsuya prompted his lover.

"Yeah, see you guys."

The two headed out of the room, leaving Byakuya and Kisuke alone. Byakuya met Kisuke's eyes with a look of sincerity.

"My apologies. I did not mean to sound as though there was no hope."

Kisuke gave him a little smile.

"Don't worry about it. I'm a pretty sharp guy. I know when to give up and when not to. That was a little setback, but I don't think we're through yet."

"I suppose not," Byakuya agreed as the shopkeeper sat down beside him again.

He felt a flicker in his insides as Kisuke's hand curved around his cheek.

"You didn't say it was hopeless," he mused, "It's not time to quit yet."

"No."

Byakuya held perfectly still as the shopkeeper leaned toward him, and he gave no resistance, even leaned forward a little, himself as Kisuke's kiss sent a twinge through his slender body.

"Thanks, Byakuya," Kisuke said, "It's good to know where we stand."


End file.
